Tag Archives: The Stray Birds

Rock Me (Divine Mother)

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Saturday, May 20 at Chestnut House Concerts: The Ana Egge Trio.  Potluck at 6, Music at 7.  RSVP with Tim Lehman at tlehman9@gmail.com.

Here’s a video of “Rock Me” in honor of Mother’s Day 2017..
This original Ana Egge song is from her album Bright Shadow. Ana sings and plays guitar and Yep Roc Records Recording artists The Stray Birds sing background vocals. May this song be a tribute to mothers everywhere as well as the divine feminine and possibility of redemption in all of us.

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Words and Music by Ana Egge and Gary Nicholson. Directed and shot by Paul Kloss.

50 Never Looked So Good

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On Friday, May 13, 2016 Chestnut House Concerts will host our 50th show.  In 2012 when we started, we held 7 house concerts and each year after the frequency increased.

People have asked us who our favorite musicians have been, and we cannot answer since there have simply been too many amazing artists that have walked through our doors. We’ve had primarily roots/bluegrass bands here, but some exceptions include Baskery, The Stacks (Tania Elizabeth / Andy Stack) , Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings, and our most recent show with Pierre Bensusan. Most bands are traveling through on tours but we’ve been lucky enough to have local musicians like Jake Lewis and the Clergy and The Stray Birds.euroamericana-2016

 

On Friday we reach show #50 by adding Kelley McRae to our list.. Her most recent album The Wayside debuts at No. 7 on the EuroAmericana charts, and below is a link to the video of Rare Bird from this album.

 

 

http://nodepression.com/video/premiere-kelley-mcrae-rare-bird

We hope you can attend the show on Friday and celebrate our 50th show with us. To RSVP contact Tim at tlehman9@gmail.com or send a text to 717-940-9311.  The suggested donation is $15-20 and all money goes to the musicians. We have a potluck at 6 and music starts at 7.  There will be some opening songs by Those Sensible Shoes from NYC.

 

 

Artist Updates

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The Birds012-012-DSC_8252+-+Version+2 of Chicago will release their highly anticipated album “Real Midnight” February 19, 2016.  The Wall Street Journal (entertainment section “speakeasy”) wrote a review of “Dim Star of the Palisades” from the album. Visit their website to see the review and listen to “Dim Star”.

 

 

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You may have seen television ads for The Good Dinosaur around Thanksgiving, and Disney selected a song by Laney Jones to promote the movie. Run Wild is from Laney’s new CD to be released in 2016. Congrats Laney!

 

The final show at Chestnut House Concerts in 2015 will be Sunday, December 27th.Nick DiSebastian (recently of Town Mountain) and Charlie Muench (of The Stray Birds) are re-connecting for a show of acoustic eclecticism.

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Nick and Charlie have stood side by side on stage in myriad of settings including the school orchestra, high school rock band, college Latin jazz band, and a nationally touring bluegrass band.Old friends reunite on stage for an evening of music. Bluegrass, Old Time, swing, rock and roll, and original music will be played featuring Nick on guitar, mandolin, and vocals along with Charlie Muench on bass, banjo, and vocals. Special guest for the second set!

Reserve your seat through Tim at tlehman9@gmail.com or by sending a text to 7179 409311.  Potluck at 6, music at 7.

 

 

 

 

Great Things in 2014; More to Come

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As we enter 2015 one can’t help but take note of all the 2014 “best of” lists.

Several artists that performed here at Chestnut House Concerts were on some of the music related lists of 2014.

The Bluegrass Situation listed The Best Roots Songs of 2014 and named “The Skillet Blues” by Nora Jane Struthers – this song is one of 6 on the album Country EP #1. You can read the entire list on The Bluegrass Situation’s website. Congrats to Nora Jane and her band.

It’s not surprising to see that Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer’s 2014 album Maritime came in at #11(out of 24) on the Euro Americana 2014 chart; in September 2014 they were number one. Dave and Mandy share the list with folk veterans such as Lucinda Williams, John Hiatt, and Rosanne Cash. To see the full list visit www.eurhigh-res-best-medicineoamericanachart.eu.

Folk Alley has several annual lists including “Best of 2014 – Folk Alley Listener Poll” in which The Stray Birds’ 2014 album Best Medicine was voted #2.

Our very first house concert was with Jonathan Byrd back in 2012 and The Triangle’s (Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina) 25 Best Albums of 2014 marked Byrd’s recent album “You Can’t Outrun the Radio” as number 13.

Chestnut House Concerts wishes everyone who has passed through our doors – audience members and musicians – a wonderful 2015.

On January 9, 2015 a female trio, Harpeth Rising, will be performing at Chestnut House Concerts.  We still have some seats available so if you’d like to attend please contact Tim at 7179409311 or by email at tlehman9@gmail.com.  Potluck at 6, Show at 7.

Artist Updates

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The Stray Birds the_stray_birds_-_best_medicine_sm_2

The Stray Birds’ new release “Best Medicine” is a 12 song CD recorded at Stonebridge Studios in Leesburg, VA and produced by the band and Stuart Martin. 10 of the tunes are originals with the same intelligent lyrics and tight harmonies that we learned to love from their first album, The Stray Birds.  The two traditional tunes included are ‘Who’s Gonna Shoe’ and ‘Pallet’; the latter being my favorite because I love the spirit that Charlie brings to the lead vocals.

Banjo BabesLindsay

If you’re looking for a 2015 wall calendar, you might want to consider Banjo Babes.  It features two artists that were at Chestnut House Concerts this fall, Lindsay Lou and Evie Ladin.

We’ll have to wait for 2016 and hope the other banjo babes that have been at Chestnut House Concerts like Laney Jones, Allison Russell (Birds of Chicago), Laurel Premo (Red Tail Ring),  Rachel Baiman (10 String Symphony) and Greta Bondesson (Baskery) will be featured in the next calendar.

The proceeds from the calendar are used to promote banjo music.

Billy Strings & Don Julin

Billy and Don

You know a band has got talent when they are booked to open for two of the greatest musicians in the history of bluegrass – Del McCoury and David Grisman.  Five shows in November starting tomorrow (11/11/14) at City Winery in New York, NY.

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The Barefoot Movement

Congratulations to The Barefoot Movement for winning the “Band of the Year Momentum Award” from the International Bluegrass Music Association in October, 2014.  This band will make a return appearance at Chestnut House Concerts on Sunday, December 7, 2014.  Show at 7:00.

 

 

The next concert will be guitarist and singer/songwriter David Jacobs-Strain. David will be playing with Bob Beach (vocals, harmonica) on Sunday, November 23, 2014.  Potluck at 6 pm, Show at 7 pm.  Email Tim at tlehman9@gmail.com to reserve a seat, or find us on Facebook.

A Musician’s Recommendation…Evie Ladin & Keith Terry

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Chestnut House Concerts was introduced to the music of Evie Ladin and Keith Terry by Oliver Craven of The Stray Birds so we asked Oliver to answer a few questions about Evie in advance of her October 1st show.

Oliver, when did you first meet Evie Ladin and/or hear her perform?

I first met Evie at Common Ground arts camp in Maryland in 2012. She was awesome. I don’t know if I actually saw her perform that time but we had a ball just singing songs late night on the porch.

 

What is it about a house concert venue that makes it a good place to hear someone like Evie?

What Evie and Keith do is best observed as close as possible. It’s intricate and nuanced, and the closer you get the more you’re gonna appreciate it. Not TOO close of course. But like a couple feet away.

Both Evie and Keith use their bodies to make rhythm – clapping, clogging, stomping – some of us are familiar with the term ‘hambone’.  What do you think is the most challenging aspect of this type of music?10672327_862551203762922_7108981106180109662_n

They got rhythm all over. It’s one thing to play an instrument, but turning your own body into that instrument and using the whole of it is something else. I’ll stick to strings.

Evie mentioned that The Stray Birds spent time at her home in California this past summer. What’s a favorite memory of that trip?

We did have the chance to visit Evie and Keith earlier this year out on the west coast. They were gracious hosts. They dragged us through some terrible San Francisco traffic one afternoon and I wasn’t too thrilled at the time, but when we got to the beach they had in mind it made me wanna move to California.

Why should music lovers around Lancaster come to see Evie Ladin & Keith Terry at their house concert?

See Evie and Keith because they’re good. It’s real stuff what they do. And they do it well. And they’re friendly too. And tell them I said hello.

Thanks Oliver for such this introduction to Evie Ladin & Keith Terry.

If you’re interested in attending we still have room. Contact Tim at tlehman9@gmail.com or text/call 717-940-9311. Wednesday, October 1 – potluck at 6, show at 7.

 

The Americana Agency

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Our first house concert was The Barn Birds (Jonathan Byrd/Chris Kokesh).  Tim knew Chris from Portland, Oregon and heard her perform many times with the Misty River Band and with other musicians over the years – including Jonathan Byrd. Upon inquiring whether The Barn Birds could do a house concert for us, we were directed to John Laird at The Americana Agency. The connection with John led us to other great artists for our house concert series including The Stray Birds and Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys,

This summer we had the privilege of meeting John at the Red Wing Roots Festival in Virginia, and again at Grey Fox in upstate New York.  John has an ear for talent and the artists we’ve met through his roster are personable and engaging – and in turn speak very highly of The Americana Agency.

We have two more bands in our 2013-2014 line up that are represented by John’s agency – The Wild Ponies on January 17, 2014 and in one week, we host another artist from The Americana Agency – Nora Jane Struthers.  She and multi-instrumentalist Joe Overton will be doing four shows before Christmas starting with Chestnut House Concerts on the 18th and then heading north to New York for the remaining shows.

As often happens around the holidays, some audience members have canceled due to schedule conflicts.  We have room for about 4 more so if that means you, give us a call, text or email tlehman9@gmail.com to save a seat.

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Artist Updates

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Social media makes it easy to follow the artists that have performed at Chestnut House Concerts and there are some great things happening to these fine musicians.

Several of the performers from last year’s line up attended the annual convention of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) this past week in Raleigh, NC including The Barefoot Movement, The Stray Birds, and  Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys.  The Raleigh News & Observer featured The Barefoot Movement in their entertainment section on the write up of the IBMA event.

Raleigh News & Observer- Entertainment-Bluegrass-The Barefoot Movement

The Kruger Brothers’ show on April 7, 2013 was a favorite of our regular Chestnut House Concert audience members.  It was no surprise to anyone that Jens won the 2013 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass.  What fun to see them on the David Letterman show Friday night (September 27, 2013).

 

2013-2014 got off to a great start with Birds of Chicago in September, and Chestnut House Concerts welcomes Adrien Reju and Brad Hinton on Friday, October 18th, potluck at 6:00 pm, show at 7:00 pm.  All seats must be reserved; text 717-940-9311 or email tlehman9@gmail.com.

Highlights from the 2012-2013 Chestnut House Concerts

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  • Surprising Lindsay and Josh Rilko (Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys) with the appearance of Josh’s parents Dan & Suzie Rilko from the DC area.
  • Watching April Verch do her thing, with great backup from Cody & Hayes.
  • Soaking in the warm personalities and extreme talent from The Kruger Brothers – the house concert setting with these guys is indescribable.
  • Jonathan Byrd’s storytelling – both through his lyrics and vignettes between songs
  • The new/fresh sounds from The Barefoot Movement, including Quentin’s tribute to my parents “In the Cool of the Day” (Jean Ritchie).
  • The potluck night that there were THREE mac & cheese dishes.
  • Lindsay Lou’s voice!
  • Kiran, our favorite house concert guest.
  • The Stray Birds packed the house.  Maya did not reveal that earlier that day she was in a serious car accident until after the show – such strength, talent, determination from this group and it’s fun to watch them gain popularity/fame as time passes.
  • International fiddler Tania Elizabeth with husband Andy Stack – and surprise guest appearance of Adrien Reju.
  • Mark Lavengood (aka Huggy Bear) from Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys – what’s not to like about a dude who has a beer from Founders Brewing Company named after him?  – Huggy’s Nuggs
  • The sweet voice of Chris Kokesh and her fiddle playing – although one of my favorite tunes “Sundays Loving You” featured Chris on the ukulele.
  • The beautiful stage backdrop provided by Tania Elizabeth’s artwork.
  • Hasee’s (The Barefoot Movement) contagious excitement in just being alive.
  • The parting group hug from Uwe and Jens.
  • Listening to Dan and Josh Rilko play together after the show, late into the evening.
  • The responsive, friendly, generous, appreciative guests (over 150!)  that attended in the past year.  We hope you’ll come back for more in 2013-2014!

45? No, wait…44. No, 46?

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stairs

Tim often asks children who visit our home to count the number of steps from the basement to the third floor. The answer varies; partly because there is some confusion about whether or not to count landings and the floor itself, and also because Tim adds to the chaos by teasing, “That’s not the number I came up with. Did one of the steps get away? We better start over.” And so it goes on.

In addition to entertaining young visitors (and of course being generally useful to move from one level to another), the open staircase in our home provides a boost to the acoustics in the front room for house concerts. This was demonstrated by Oliver Craven of The Stray Birds when they were doing a sound check for their December 2012 show. He moved to the stairwell, held the instrument over the open space and gave a few plinks and listened as the notes climbed up and up and out the open door on the third floor.

The Stacks are providing our next house concert on Wednesday, June 19th. We invite you to come and listen to the voices, guitars and fiddle playing of Andy Stack and Tania Elizabeth. We won’t make you count the steps, but you can take advantage of another benefit of the open staircase that I forgot to mention. Seating for the show!